Page 77 of A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash
‘What if I undressyou?’
Alina stilled, breath catching in her throat, her pulse a frantic drumbeat against her ribs. The flush on her cheeks deepened, blooming like a petal unfurling under the sun, betraying the sharp contrast between her resolve and the fire curling beneath her skin.
Kai stepped closer, his presence pressing against her like an unspoken promise, though he did not touch her—not yet. He merely inclined his head, lowering it to hers until the heat of his breath mingled with her own.
He licked his lips, slow and deliberate.
And she followed the movement.
He could see it—the way her tawny eyes traced the path of his tongue, lingering there as if considering what it would feel like against her own. His fingers brushed against her chin, barely there—a ghost of a touch. Gently, he tilted her face upwards, guiding her into his gravity.
‘If you wish, princess,’ he whispered,voice rough, edged with something dark. ‘I’ll letyoutake the clothes offmybody.’ He let his black jacket slip from his shoulders, the fabric falling like a shadow onto the warm volcanic rock beneath them.
And then—he waited.
Waited asher gaze dropped, trailing over him, taking him in.
The hesitation made it all the more intoxicating. The uncertainty, the heat, the way her fingers twitched at her sides, torn between restraint and curiosity. The air between them thickened, tension rising like the molten core beneath the mountain they stood upon.
Kai’s body reacted violently to her indecision, to the weight of her stare as it drifted over the buttons of his shirt, lingering, lingering, lingering.
Aching.
The need to press her against him, to consume her, to let her set fire to him in ways even he could not control—it nearly shattered his restraint.
But something shifted.
The fire in her eyes dimmed. Her breath caught, but not in the way he had expected.
And then—she stepped back.
The sudden retreat sent confusion rocketing through him. He had seen it—the desire in her eyes, the heat that had licked up her throat, the sharp inhale when their breath had tangled. So why had she run? What had changed?
Kai's lips parted, a question forming, but before he could speak, she turned, her voice cutting through the thick air like a blade.
‘Hurry, I want to show you the dragon nests.’
And she was gone. Moving quickly, putting space between them, retreating towards the crater up ahead as if nothing hadhappened.
Kai remained where he stood, the tension still wrapped around him like iron chains. He had been so sure. Had he read her wrong?
Jaw tightening, he grabbed his discarded jacket and strode after her.
The dragon nests stretched along the crater’s rim, massive and ancient, their edges lined with charred stone and scattered embers. Above them, wild dragons stirred, lifting their heads, nostrils flaring. They would not attack. They could smell his blood and what it meant.
Alina stood at the edge, watching, her expression softened by something reverent.
‘It is breathtaking, is it not?’ she murmured, her voice filled with something close to longing.
Kai’s gaze didn’t stray towards the dragons. Instead, he watchedher. Her golden hair caught in the wind, strands lifting in the heated breeze, glowing like spun sunlight. The curve of her jaw, the sharp angles of her cheekbones, the way her dragon horns framed her face like a crown—she was a vision of fire and fury.
And he wanted her. Oh, how he wanted her.
‘Yes,’ he whispered. ‘Beautiful indeed.’
But he was not speaking of the view.
They stood in silence, watching as one of the dragon eggs cracked open, a new life pushing its way into the world. A sound—soft, raw, and beastly—shattered the stillness, and the mother dragon turned, alert to the hatchling’s cry.
